LEAH PATTEM (MADRID NO FRILLS)
¡Así soy yo! / THIS IS ME!
Leah Pattem, better known for her project’s name as Madrid No Frills, developed a photography workshop with children from very different backgrounds, but all residents of the neighborhood, which culminated in an exhibition at Cinesia, where they meet two afternoons a week.
In a series of sessions at Cinesia, the aim and instructions were to take photographs of themselves and their friends, focusing on self-expression, to learn how to use a camera and to freely experiment with it. All the photographs in the exhibition were taken by the children in the Galgo Flaco educational project using eight second-hand digital pocket cameras from the early 2000s. For many of them, aged between 6 and 13, it was the first time they had seen one of these cameras, which added an extra level of magic to the whole photographic process.
They were immediately able to take pictures, but also to select and delete the ones they didn't like. In three sessions, they took more than 2,000 pictures of themselves. As you can see, the results are full of joy.
Photography levels the playing field, and is an opportunity to express yourself but also the world around you. Photography tells the truth without filters and also gives the opportunity to understand something that perhaps cannot be said in words, which is also especially difficult for migrants when Spanish is not their mother tongue.
Both the process and the outcome of this project has worked for the participating children as a fantastic experience of empowerment and self-confidence.
LEAH PATTEM (MADRID NO FRILLS)
She defines herself as a journalist and photographer, and through both she develops a work in which she sheds light on hidden realities and apparently hidden places through her profile on social networks Madrid No Frills.